701-710

Source: PSS vol. 28

Russia attempted to prohibit the transit of mail packages from 1 February 1914, but all the Powers opposed this (both England and France), and Russia was forced to give way (pp. 70-71).

Russia concluded a commercial treaty with Persia in 1902, securing the market for "its own" sugar, kerosene, and so forth (71)...

Morgan Shuster says that this tariff is extremely harmful to Persia and advantageous to Russia (73) - (p. 270 of Shuster's book)...

Russia thus ensures itself a monopoly (74) in northern Persia, forcing the Persians to pay threefold prices for shoddy goods!!

Competition of influences in Persia: schools (Russian, French, German), hospitals (Russian, English, German) etc. German pharmacies (88), society for carpet trade (89).

Russia's conquest in Central Asia from 1861 to 1891 (estimates from 1911)
sq. km.     inhabitants
598,090     451,000
203,430     1,500,000
67,430      800,000
489,240     1,874,000
142,790     2,069,000
87,560      1,184,000

(1869-1873) Trans-Caspian region Bukhara -
(1873) Khiva
Syr-Darya -
1884 (1875-6) Fergana
Merv Samarkand -
1,588,540   7,878,000

5 May 1903 speech of Lord Lamington in the House of Lords (p. 100 et seq.) (against Russia: we supposedly need the Persian Gulf - it is the protection of the Indian frontier...)

idem speech of Lord Ellenborough: ..."I would prefer to see Russia in Constantinople than a single European arsenal on the shores of the Persian Gulf" (111).

Treaty between Russia and England 31 August 1907 (text: p. 114 et seq.) ("Russo-English treaty of partition")... Russia's zone - 790,000 sq. km.
» England's - 355,000 » » (p. 119)...

Note from English and Russian ambassadors to Persia (from 18 February 1912) - p. 124 et seq. lends
at 100,000 pounds sterling at 7%!!! and so forth... Of course, the ministers, Russia's appointees, agree.

708

V. I. LENIN

Potsdam Treaty 19 August 1911 - (text: p. 130 et seq.). Germany recognizes Russia's zone in Persia, Russia agrees not to oppose the Baghdad railway.

Speech of the Reich Chancellor in the Reichstag (10 December 1910) on the same matter...

Russia divided with England, and then reinsures itself with Germany!!

Germany supposedly needs a road to Persia and to India - only for trade, of course, only!! - The Baghdad road ends at the Gulf, that won't do, England can block it. It must be that the road ends at Bandar Abbas (!) Oman is in fact in England's hands (p. 144). Tabriz (220,000 inhabitants). Trade (1906/7)
exports - 23.4 million marks
imports - 30.9 » »
of which Russia 34.0%
England 31
Austria 10
Turkey 4.2
France 3
Italy 5.6
Germany 4.5
= 92.3 (p. 150)
(p. 151)!!
(This supposedly does not correspond to Germany's commercial strength.) Summer of 1914: treaty on the partition of Anatolia's railways. France received 4,522 km. of roads in Turkey
Germany 4,909 km.

Afghanistan - mountainous territory.
624,000 sq. km. 4,450,000 inhabitants. Nominally entirely independent. In fact the entire foreign policy is in England's hands; the Emir is on her payroll. According to the Russia-England treaty (31 August 1907) England recognized freedom of trade in Afghanistan, Russia recognized that Afghanistan is "outside its sphere of influence".

The English do not even permit foreigners to enter!! Afghanistan (!! p. 154).

The Afghans militarily "are by no means opponents who could be underestimated" (157).

709